About PJ Irwin ... the artist, the educator, the presenter
Self-Portrait ...circa 1976
- WOULD HAVE RATHER CARTOONED THAN DO ANYTHING ELSE IN SCHOOL
- ORIGINALLY WANTED TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST / ARCHITECT
- TOOK DRAWING AND DESIGN AT THE UNIVERSITY of CALGARY WHILE COMPLETING HIS EDUCATION DEGREE AND THEN TOOK CARTOONING LATER AT ACAD
- TAUGHT ART AND CARTOONING TO STUDENTS GRADE K-12 AS A TEACHER AND AS A PRESENTER AT THE ANNUAL "FOOTHILLS YOUNG AUTHORS' CONFERENCE"
- WAS FIRST PUBLISHED AS A CARTOONIST IN 1981
- COMMISSIONED CARTOONIST FOR A NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS
- WAS AN EDITORIAL CARTOONIST FOR THE HIGH RIVER TIMES FROM 1986-1992 AND THEN FROM 2005-2007 (APPROX. 350 CARTOONS)
- HAS BEEN THE EDITORIAL CARTOONIST FOR THE OKOTOKS WESTERN WHEEL FROM 2007-2025 (APPROX. 900 CARTOONS)
- WAS THE EDITORIAL CARTOONIST FOR “THE CHINOOK ARCH” — A MONTHLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE IN CALGARY
- HAS DONE GRAPHIC FACILITATION FOR FOOTHILLS SCHOOL DIVISION EVENTS AND AT THE CANADIAN SCHOOL BOARD ASSOCIATION NATIONAL CONFERENCE IN BANFF
- RECENTLY ILLUSTRATED A BOOK ON LEADERSHIP ENTITLED “EMANATE”
- AWARDED 2ND PLACE FOR THE "BEST LOCAL CARTOON" IN THE 2025 CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSMEDIA AWARDS
- RECIPIENT OF “THE ALBERTA EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD” IN 1992 AS A TEACHER
- RECEIVED “THE ALBERTA DISTINGUISHED LEADERSHIP AWARD” IN 2019 AS A PRINCIPAL
Phil has been a published cartoonist and illustrator for close to 25 years and continues to be active as the editorial cartoonist for the Okotoks Western Wheel weekly newspaper.
During his thirty-one year career in education, Phil has taught both art and cartooning to students ranging in age from five to eighteen years of age. Most recently, he presented one of his “The Joy of Cartooning” workshops to Grade 4-9 students at this year’s Foothills Young Authors' Conference in Okotoks.
As a presenter, a cartoonist-in-residence, and as a guest teacher, Phil plans to visit classrooms locally and throughout the province sharing his love for cartooning. While reinforcing specific learning outcomes in Art, Language Arts, and Social Studies, Phil’s goal is to teach students the art and science of cartooning so that they feel confident experimenting with the idea of becoming cartoonists themselves.
In addition, Phil will be presenting at the upcoming 2026 Palliser Teachers' Convention in Calgary sharing with teachers how they can use cartooning to deliver curriculum-based content in an engaging way with their students.
- STUDENT WORKSHOPS -
In addition to the curriculum-based presentations above that are designed specifically for a wide variety of school-aged audiences, Phil has over 1300 cartoons digitally catalogued that he is able to draw from to customize presentations for those wishing to take advantage of his diverse experience and expertise in cartooning, art, design, and creative thinking. Phil will be more than happy to tailor his presentation to fit your students’ instructional needs ... all you have to do is ask!
View some of our more recent work
Discover more examples of our creative work and visual projects on Instagram and Facebook. Each piece showcases our attention to detail and commitment to delivering a product that meets and hopefully exceeds expectations.
